% 3^ 


STRENGTH  and  LIFE 


Address 


Most  Rev.W.H.  O'Connell 

Coadjutor  Archbishop  of  Boston 


to  the 


Knights  of  Columbus 


Cathedral  of  the  Holy  Cross 


Boston^  October  /2,  ^906 


STRENGTH  AND  LIFE 


175-45 

1 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 
Boston  Library  Consortium  Member  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/strengthlifeOOocon 


121H5 


STRENGTH  AND  LIFE 


HE  wisdom  of  ages  and  men  long  buried 
in  the  past  is  the  torch  which  serves  to 
brighten  the  path  of  present  duty.  Every 
great  man,  every  man  who  has  toiled,  not 
for  himself,  but  for  the  ages  — for  eternity  — has  lighted 
his  lamp  at  that  flame,  and,  dying,  has  bequeathed  the 
light  of  his  life  to  all  men  who  follow.  To  such 
posterity  is  a debtor.  How  little  any  of  us  should  know 
but  for  the  treasury  of  the  ages  from  which  we  freely 
draw.  How  little  the  greatest  among  us  could  accom- 
plish did  he  rely  upon  his  own  self-made  knowledge. 
What  a pigmy  that  man  soon  becomes  who  refuses  to 
grow  by  the  study  of  his  elders.  Great  veneration  for 
the  dead  past  is  the  only  safe  stepping-stone  to  security 
in  reaching  an  honorable  and  lasting  future.  Only  little 
men  are  irreverent.  The  conceit  which  ignores  is  as 
shallow  as  it  is  insolent.  It  crumbles  as  it  was  reared, 
in  a day,  and  its  ruins  excite,  not  sympathy,  but  scorn. 
And  so  it  is  that  the  profound  knowledge  of  history 
is  necessary  for  those  who  govern  or  build  society, 
and  the  study  of  the  great  men  of  the  past  is  the 
best  food  for  the  men  of  the  future.  The  world  even 


4 


Strenotb  anb  %itc 


has  its  dogma  of  the  veneration  of  saints.  Every  suc- 
cessful merchant,  every  great  lawyer,  every  brilliant 
orator  of  the  last  generation  has  established  his  devotion 
and  has  his  shrine.  Yes,  the  veneration  of  the  great  of 
the  past  is  a normal  sentiment.  And  you,  sir  knights, 
in  hallowing  the  great  name  of  Columbus,  proclaim  not 
only  his  greatness  but  your  own  high  sentiments  — the 
one  of  all  others  distinctive  of  true  knighthood,  rever- 
ence — a quality  of  mind  and  heart  which  may  God 
preserve  in  you  amid  a world  growing,  it  would  seem, 
sadly  lacking  in  its  possession. 

There  is  something  awe-inspiring  in  the  aspect  of  one 
whose  whitened  locks  and  bowed  figure,  whose  feeble 
accents  and  slow  step,  tell  us  that  the  evening  of  life  is 
passing  and  that  soon  the  night  will  come.  There  is  in 
his  very  feebleness  a great  mystery  that  touches  us.  We 
look  at  him  and  read  the  whole  story  of  human  life  in 
the  deep  furrows  set  by  care,  and  the  bowed  shoulders 
which  have  bent  under  so  many  burdens.  So,  too,  the 
autumn  of  the  year  brings  sadness  even  in  its  beauty  of 
decay.  The  chill  winds,  the  falling  of  the  fiowers  and 
blossoms,  the  leaves  that  strew  the  once  shady  groves, 
all  proclaim  the  dying  of  the  year.  And  there  is  a pathos 
in  the  decay  of  nature  which  even  winter  has  not.  And 
why?  Because  in  man  and  in  nature,  in  the  whitened 
locks  and  sere  leaf,  we  behold  the  inevitable  law  of  all 
things  mundane;  the  law  of  birth,  growth,  the  climax, 


strength  anh  Xife 


5 


and  then  the  slow  hastening  to  the  silent  end.  And  this 
contemplation  of  the  ebb  and  flow,  this  witnessing  of 
the  evanescence  of  all  mortal  life,  brings  its  lesson  to  him 
who  contemplates  it.  In  all  things  material  this  mor- 
tality is  inherent.  Men,  flowers,  kingdoms,  associations, 
armies,  nations,  all  are  subject  to  the  same  absolute  law. 

To-night  I look  out  upon  your  body,  young  and  hearty 
and  strong  in  all  the  vigor  of  youth,  not  only  as  individ- 
uals, but  in  the  splendid  cohesiveness  of  your  organization. 
I see  in  your  faces  the  light  of  energy,  and  I read  in  the 
story  of  your  united  association  all  the  power  of  man- 
hood in  its  prime.  Your  organization  is  still  young;  as 
life  goes,  you  are  young.  Not  one  of  you  but  wishes  to 
it  long  duration,  permanency,  and  continued  efficacy. 
Not  one  of  you  perhaps  but  has  seen  many  another  like 
it  pass,  even  in  a few  brief  years,  through  all  the  periods 
of  birth,  growth,  and  decay.  Many  of  you,  maybe,  more 
than  once,  since  the  birth  of  your  organization,  have 
feared  the  same  sudden  course  for  it,  too.  Will  it  last? 
Will  it  endure?  That  is  the  question  which  all  really 
interested  in  its  welfare  ask  with  anxiety.  It  is  not 
enough  that  it  now  stands  out  among  similar  societies 
as  numerically  strong,  nor  that  it  is  spreading  its  branches 
far  and  wide.  That  is  good,  but  it  is  no  more  security 
against  decay  than  the  florid  condition  of  a healthy 
youth  is  security  against  the  feebleness  of  age.  Just 
now,  when  its  vigor  and  its  far-reaching  strength  are 


6 


Strenotb  anb  %itc 


most  evident  and  gratifying,  is  the  very  time  to  look 
beyond  to-day  and  to  provide  for  its  future  as  well  as 
for  its  present  strength.  That  is  a subject  well  worth 
investigating.  We  must  think  and  provide,  not  only 
for  the  growth,  but  for  the  permanency  of  this  organi- 
zation. That  is  what  we  shall  consider  to-night. 

I have  said  that  the  law  of  growth  and  decay  is  uni- 
versal for  all  things  merely  human.  The  conserving 
element  which  alone  can  modify  this  law  must  be  spir- 
itual. And  just  as  the  human  body  retains  the  vigor 
of  life  and  action  so  long  as  the  soul  inhabits  it,  and 
instantly  succumbs  to  the  law  of  disintegration  and 
decay  the  very  moment  the  soul  deserts  it,  so  is  it  true 
of  the  mortal  body  or  organization.  If  its  aims  and 
its  objects  be  merely  material  — if  the  spirit  which  vivi- 
fies it  be  of  the  world,  then  it  is  certain  that  whatever 
be  its  momentary  strength,  its  wealth  in  numbers  and 
resources,  however  promising  its  hopes  and  fiattering  its 
prospects,  the  day  must  come  when  time  will  sound  the 
trump  of  death.  The  enthusiasm  of  its  founders  will 
begin  to  slacken  in  the  hearts  of  its  lukewarm  mem- 
bers. The  law  of  change  soon  leaves  its  imprint  upon 
its  purposes  through  dissension,  and  gradually  the  vivi- 
fying principle  which  sustained  it,  diluted  in  its  expand- 
ing breath,  becomes  weaker,  and  then  the  decadence 
begins.  Only  one  kingdom  in  all  the  world  escapes 
this  general  law,  and  that  is  the  kingdom  of  God  — 


strength  anh  Xtfe 


7 


the  Church.  As  she  lives  by  the  spirit  of  God,  which 
changes  not,  so  the  ages  pass  over  her  and  leave  her 
still  ever  youthful.  And  those  organizations  alone  par- 
ticipate in  that  perennial  youth  which  are  governed, 
animated,  and  vivified  by  the  same  spirit  which  preserves 
her  from  any  danger  of  decay. 

As  the  fruitful  mother  of  many  children,  she  gives 
of  her  endless  bounty  to  all  who  live  within  her  house; 
not  only  to  her  immediate  offspring,  as  are  the  religious 
orders,  but  even  to  those  of  far  less  affinity,  the  thou- 
sands of  societies  and  associations  bound  to  her  and 
subject  to  her;  organizations  like  yours,  founded  with 
far  less  spiritual  ends  and  with  fewer  spiritual  obliga- 
tions. The  spirit  of  God  preserves  not  only  her  but  hers. 

How  many  kingdoms  have  come  and  gone  since  Bene- 
dict gave  his  rule  of  life  to  the  monks  of  the  West?  Yet 
the  great  Benedictine  Order  still  rears  its  noble  monas- 
teries upon  the  hilltops,  and  generation  after  genera- 
tion of  learned  monks  walk  through  their  silent  cloisters, 
still  guided  by  that  same  rule  which  reared  Monte  Casino. 
How  many  nations  have  risen  to  the  apex  of  might  and 
fallen  to  a lowly  place  since  the  Poverelle  of  Assisi 
espoused  his  bride.  Lady  Poverty,  and  sent  his  sons  over 
all  the  world  to  teach  men  the  folly  of  all  wealth  except 
the  riches  of  heaven?  Yet  the  Franciscans  still  fiourish 
to-day  as  if  naught  had  changed.  How  evident  all  his- 
tory proclaims  the  eternal  vitality  of  everything  blessed 


8 


Strength  anh  Xife 


and  protected  by  Holy  Mother  Church.  And  how  equally 
obvious  it  proclaims  that  those  organizations  which  rest 
upon  other  foundations  sooner  or  later  disappear  and 
are  forgotten.  It  must,  therefore,  be  clear  to  all  who 
reason  and  read  that  for  the  enduring  force  of  associa- 
tion there  must  be  an  enduring  principle  of  life;  and 
that  proposition,  philosophically  sound,  is  proven  by 
the  facts  of  history.  With  this,  therefore,  as  a truth 
incontestable,  it  is  easy  to  draw  conclusions  and  to  fore- 
cast results  in  regard  to  your  organization  and  every 
other  like  unto  it. 

The  criterion,  therefore,  which  is  the  basis  of  our 
hope  that  the  organization  of  the  Kjnights  of  Colum- 
bus, erected  by  its  founders  for  the  realization  of  noble 
purposes,  and  whose  growth  and  rise  have  been  so  rapid 
and  encouraging,  is  all  contained  in  this:  Have  its  origi- 
nal purposes  grown  with  the  growth  of  numbers?  Is 
its  animating  principle  the  spirit  of  life  eternal?  If  so 
there  is  nothing  to  fear.  What  is  the  spirit  of  life  eter- 
nal? What  is  this  mysterious  force  of  activity  which, 
penetrating  to  every  member,  thrills  it  into  action  and 
saves  it  from  decay?  What  is  this  mysterious  sap  drawn 
by  the  roots  from  the  very  substance  of  the  soil  in  which 
they  are  sunk,  and  which,  overcoming  the  natmal  law 
of  gravitation  by  the  higher  and  sublimer  law  of  attrac- 
tion, moistens  the  fiber  of  the  tree  with  its  potent  unction, 
and  which  rests  not  till  it  has  brought  life  and  nourish- 


strength  anh  Xtfe 


9 


ment  to  the  very  end  of  the  longest  branch,  and,  push- 
ing ever  onward,  makes  its  subtle  course  through  the 
thinnest  stem  to  the  very  tip  of  the  tiniest  leaf?  When 
the  sun  sets  the  sap  ceases  to  flow,  and  at  its  rising  this 
mysterious  force  begins  once  more  its  work. 

The  tree  is  the  Church.  The  sap  is  the  active  principle 
or  charity  stirred  into  life  by  the  presence  of  the  Son  of 
God.  The  branches  are  the  religious  orders,  and  the 
tiny  leaves  are  the  thousands  of  the  multiplied  organiza- 
tions like  yours;  offspring,  tender  offspring,  of  the  sturdy 
life  of  the  whole  tree,  and  above  all  the  inflnite  potency 
of  God’s  sun;  the  sun  of  that  God  who  has  deflned  Him- 
self in  one  consoling  word  — Love.  “ Deus  caritas  est.” 
It  is  charity,  therefore,  which  is  the  only  source  of  per- 
ennial life.  And  even  as  when  the  sun  goes  down  below 
the  horizon,  the  soil  refuses  to  give  up  its  nourishing 
forces  to  the  tree,  but  remains  cold  and  sterile,  so,  too, 
when  the  warmth  of  God’s  love  ceases  to  warm  the 
springs  of  human  activity,  the  life  of  an  organization 
sinks  to  its  end  and  its  sap  of  life  soon  dries  up,  leaving 
only  a residue  which  soon  becomes  absorbed  and  vanishes. 

The  great  author  of  life,  the  Son  of  God,  by  whom  all 
things  were  made,  has  revealed  the  secret  of  perma- 
nency and  eternal  vitality.  All  ye  who  would  know  the 
only  method  of  conserving  the  vital  spark  which  keeps 
alive  not  only  men  but  associations  and  organizations 
like  yours,  harken  to  the  wonderful  words  which  can 


lO 


strength  anh  Xife 


alone  solve  the  great  mystery:  words,  which,  like  most 
of  the  divine  truths  which  Jesus  Christ  uttered,  seem  to 
contradict  the  dictates  of  human  wisdom,  but  which 
in  reality  are  revelations  of  Him  who  alone  knows  all 
things  because  He  created  them.  ‘‘  Whosoever  will 
save  his  life  shall  lose  it;  and  whosoever  will  lose  his 
life  for  my  sake  shall  find  it.’’  The  law  of  the  spirit 
of  God  again  and  again  contradicts  the  spirit  of  the 
world.  The  law  of  natural  economy  would  seem  to 
inculcate  increase  by  saving.  The  egoism  of  the  world 
inculcates  growth  by  selfishness.  Upon  this  law  self- 
guided  humanity  has  ever  built  and  ever  failed.  The 
law  of  the  spirit  opposes  itself  to  such  futile  wisdom  and 
cries  out  to  man:  Lose  that  you  may  gain  life.  Care 
not  for  yourself  but  for  others,  if  you  would  increase 
your  own  vitality  and  preserve  it.  And  this  same  law, 
exemplified  so  perfectly  in  the  life  of  Him  who  came 
to  teach  all  truth,  is  the  potent  power  of  permanency 
and  pereimial  activity  of  that  organization  of  which 
He  is  the  head  and  founder.  It  is  because  she  un- 
ceasingly gives  herself  for  the  good  and  the  happiness 
and  the  consolation  of  others  that  she  perpetuates  her- 
self to  all  ages.  And  you,  sir  knights,  must  learn  from 
this  text  the  best  method  of  prolonging  and  strength- 
ening the  force  of  your  organization.  For  since,  as 
I have  said,  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth  is  the  only 
kingdom  that  has  survived  the  ages ; since  the  Church 


strength  ant)  Xtfe 


1 1 

is  the  only  organization  that  has  defied  the  ravages  of 
time,  you  must  look  to  her  as  a model  upon  which  to 
build  a lasting  edifice,  and,  by  imitating  her  supernatural 
wisdom,  give  stability  to  the  life  of  your  brotherhood. 

“ Whosoever  will  lose  his  life  for  my  sake  shall  find 
it.’’  Here  is  the  law  of  eternal  life  — the  giving  of 
one’s  self  for  others  for  Christ’s  sake.  Here  is  the  di- 
vine law  of  charity  which  must  be  your  guiding  star, 
illumining  the  path  of  your  knighthood  and  leading  it 
by  the  noble  way  of  unselfishness,  which  lifts  it  above 
the  powers  of  death.  Give  yourselves  for  others;  live 
for  others;  sacrifice  yourselves  for  others.  Think  less 
of'  your  organization  than  of  the  good  it  may  perform. 
Turn  your  eyes  not  inward  upon  your  own  petty  needs, 
but  outward  upon  the  great  work  which  stands  before 
you  to  accomplish.  And  so  surely  as  the  words  of  God 
are  true,  just  so  surely  will  the  life,  the  activity,  the 
welfare,  and  the  prosperity  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus 
grow  and  fiourish  and  endure. 

Have  you  banded  together  merely  to  enjoy  yourselves? 
Have  you  taken  the  great  name  of  Columbus,  the  name 
of  him  who  left  all  that  was  dear  to  him  to  risk  life 
itself  upon  the  wide  expanse  of  unknown  seas,  not  for 
himself,  but  to  bring  the  light  of  Christian  faith  and 
hope  to  others  — have  you  taken  his  name  in  vain? 
No,  it  cannot  be  so.  The  Church  could  never  bless  a 
society  formed  for  selfish  aims.  Were  mere  social  en- 


12. 


Strength  anh  Xife 


joyment,  or  worldiy  pleasure,  or  material  gain,  or  politi- 
cal ambition,  or  any  other  selfish  aim  the  object  of  this 
society,  its  name  would  have  no  meaning.  The  Church 
would  give  it  no  recognition.  You  would  not  be  here 
in  a body  in  this  hallowed  place,  nor  would  a bishop  of 
the  Church  be  now  addressing  you.  It  is  because  we 
know  and  realize  that  your  aims  are  ideal,  not  material, 
that  you  desire  to  assist  in  the  great  work  which  the 
Church  is  doing  among  mankind,  that  you  have  her 
recognition.  And  it  is  with  the  hope  that  my  words 
may  rouse  in  you  a fuller  realization  of  Christian  prin- 
ciple, of  Catholic  ideals;  it  is  that  the  blessing  which 
you  are  to  receive  to-night  may  fall  on  fruitful  ground 
that  I am  here  to  address  you  in  the  name  of  Him  who 
to  men  like  you  twenty  centuries  ago  first  spake  the 
secrets  of  life  eternal,  teaching  men  how  by  charity  alone 
is  life  preserved.  “ Whosoever  will  lose  his  life  for  my 
sake  shall  find  it.’’ 

Is  there  a demand  for  such  work  as  associations  like 
yours  can  accomplish?  How  can  you  doubt  it?  Have 
you  lived  thus  long  not  to  know  that  the  hope  of  the 
community,  of  the  nation,  of  the  Church,  lies  in  the 
unselfish  activity  for  good  of  men  like  you?  Are  you 
so  deaf  as  not  to  hear  on  all  sides  the  cry  for  help  that 
is  filling  our  streets  and  our  cities?  A cry  which  all 
must  hear,  for  its  wail  is  too  strong  to  be  silenced  even 
by  the. turmoil  of  the  mart,  but  which  few,  alas!  heed, 


Strenatb  anb  %itc 


13 


except  those  who  have  dedicated  their  lives  to  God’s 
service  in  the  priesthood  and  in  the  religious  life,  and 
their  hands  are  all  too  few  to  bring  the  needed  aid.  The 
cry  of  the  children  neglected  by  those  who  should  care 
for  them.  The  cry  for  sympathy  arising  from  the  mul- 
titude of  those  who  suffer  injustice.  The  cry  in  the 
courts  for  the  protection  of  the  law  against  the  brutal 
force  of  might.  The  cry  of  the  sick  and  ailing  who  have 
no  friends  to  bring  them  a remedy  for  their  ills.  The 
cry  of  those  who  have  fallen  and  who  are  spurned  by 
the  world  for  seeking  to  rise  again.  Is  it  possible  that 
men  with  hearts  hear  all  this  and  steel  themselves  against 
it?  Or  has  the  very  commonness  of  suffering  and  need 
served  only  to  make  it  appear  hopeless  and  beyond  the 
reach  of  aid?  Why  is  it  that  so  often  the  priest  appeals 
in  vain  for  workers  in  the  cause  of  charity,  for  interest 
in  the  conferences  of  St.  Vincent  of  Paul,  for  helpers  in 
every  good  work  which  constitutes  the  very  life  and  sal- 
vation of  a parish?  The  appeal  to  which  always  comes 
the  same  answer,  I am  too  busy,  I have  no  time,  I am 
too  tired.  All  of  which  are  but  thin  veils  which  cannot 
cover  the  real  reason,  which  is  that  charity  has  grown 
cold,  that  selfishness  has  grown  stronger,  that  while 
there  is  no  time  or  leisure  for  the  great  work  which  must 
be  done  unless  the  mission  of  the  Church  is  to  prove  a 
failure,  there  is  always  time  and  leisure  for  self-amuse- 
ment, for  self-interest,  for  self-advancement. 


strength  anh  Xife 


H 

If  to-day,  sir  knights,  you  desire  to  multiply  your 
strength,  not  only  in  numbers,  but  of  yoiu:  claims  for 
noble  recognition,  you  must  resolve  to  reduce  to  its 
lowest  factor  all  that  is  selfish,  and  elevate  to  its  highest 
point  all  that  tends  to  bring  out  from  every  member 
of  your  body  corporate  the  elements  of  true  knight- 
hood — fidelity  to  God’s  law,  fidelity  to  His  Church  and 
her  laws,  the  love  of  God  which  preserves  from  sin,  and 
the  love  of  your  neighbor,  which  will  bring  you  wher- 
ever there  is  human  need. 

Already  you  have  done  much.  The  very  act  of 
bringing  together  into  a common  fraternity  thousands 
of  young  men  is  an  accomplishment  which  demands 
recognition.  At  a crisis,  when  it  was  feared  by  many 
that  a certain  laxity  of  purpose  was  beginning  to  mani- 
fest itself,  the  organization  vindicated  itself  and  gave 
a new  impulse  to  its  course  in  the  right  direction  by  a 
magnificent  act  of  generosity  to  the  cause  of  Christian 
education.  At  once  it  became  evident  to  all  America 
that  the  capabilities  of  the  order  were  great.  It  was 
the  first  great  unselfish  act  of  your  body  corporate,  and 
the  spark  of  noble  charity  quickened  a higher  life  among 
all  the  members.  It  stands  as  a proof  of  what  you 
can  do  as  instruments  in  the  hands  of  God  for  the  fur- 
thering of  noble  ends  and  the  realization  of  glorious 
aims  for  the  progress  and  prosperity  of  Holy  Church. 
And  doubtless  you  now  realize  that  that  act  of  unsel- 


strength  anh  Xife 


15 


fishness  has  already  brought  its  reward  in  the  higher 
standing  of  your  organization,  in  greater  confidence 
where  formerly  there  was  doubt,  and  even  in  the  in- 
crease of  your  numerical  strength.  “ Whosoever  will 
lose  his  life  for  my  sake  shall  find  it.^’ 

The  act  of  momentary  sacrifice  has  increased  your 
wealth,  moral  and  even  material,  and  it  is  only  by 
repeated  actions  of  this  kind,  of  losing  that  you  may 
gain,  that  the  invincible  law  by  which  the  spirit  of  life 
is  governed  will  be  fully  realized  in  you.  That  great 
example  of  the  whole  organization  has  been  felt  in  every 
local  council  throughout  the  land,  and  similar  acts  of 
knightly  generosity  on  a smaller  scale  materially,  though 
morally  not  less  effective,  have  given  witness  of  the  infiu- 
ence  of  that  good  example.  Here  in  Massachusetts  we 
know  the  help  you  have  given  to  the  blessed  and  noble 
work  of  caring  for  the  children  of  the  poor  and  unfor- 
tunate— a work  which  in  its  character  of  protecting 
the  weak  must  appeal  to  every  knightly  soul;  a work 
which  is  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the  state  and  of  great 
assistance  to  the  Church ; a work  which  will  surely  bring 
myriads  of  blessings  in  its  train  to  you  individually  and 
to  your  order;  blessings  which,  coming  from  the  Giver 
of  all  good  things,  are  always  the  richer  when  given  in 
recompense  for  aught  that  is  done  for  the  sake  of  His 
little  ones. 

I doubt  not  there  will  be  among  your  number  a short- 


Strenotb  anb  %itc 


i6 

sighted  few,  unable  to  look  beyond  a narrow  field  and 
unwilling  to  make  great  efforts  for  the  accomplishment 
of  large  projects,  who  will  seek  to  reduce  the  order  to 
the  petty  limits  of  a social  club,  or,  at  best,  confine  its 
purposes  to  a merely  mutual  life  insurance  company. 
And  they  will  no  doubt  endeavor  to  eliminate  every 
altruistic  plan  on  the  basis  that  it  is  not  practical.  Not 
practical  — that  is  the  word  so  often  misused  to  stifie 
every  aspiration  for  the  ideal.  That  is  the  very  doctrine 
which  takes  the  soul  out  of  all  that  is  best  and  noblest 
in  human  life.  It  is  the  cankerworm  of  modern  methods 
which  is  eating  into  the  very  vitals  of  Christianity  itself, 
gnawing  at  the  roots  of  every  plant  destined  by  God  to 
bring  forth  beautiful  blossoms,  fragrant  with  the  odor 
of  fraternal  love.  Not  practical,  because  not  selfish; 
not  practical,  because  ideal.  Do  they  forget  that  in 
such  heartless  analysis  every  holy  sentiment  is  reduced 
to  ashes?  It  is.  this  deification  of  the  practical  that  is 
turning  human  hearts  to  stone.  It  is  this  destruction 
of  the  ideal  which  has  become  a blight  in  human  life, 
which,  as  it  progresses  outward  from  the  individual, 
attacks  the  family,  associations,  friendships,  society,  and 
even  religion  itself;  withering  the  very  heart  of  man, 
and  drying  up  in  its  progress  friendship,  love,  patriot- 
ism, and  devotion  — for  all  these,  subjected  to  the 
alchemy  of  selfishness,  must  appear  unpractical,  unprofit- 
able, and  therefore  useless. 


strength  anh  %iU 


17 

We  have  but  to  look  around  us  in  our  daily  walk 
through  the  streets  of  a busy  city  to  see  the  marks  which 
this  devotion  to  the  so-called  practical  leaves  on  every 
side.  Read  it  in  the  hardened  face  of  the  tight-fisted 
merchant  whose  thought  never  reaches  beyond  himself! 
Read  it  in  the  disintegration  of  families  where  it  has 
obtained  a shrine!  Read  it  in  the  rottenness  and  cor- 
ruption which  flood  whole  nations  where  the  ideals  of 
citizenship  are  fast  disappearing!  Read  it  in  the  riot- 
ous tumult  of  the  poor  to  whom  its  gospel  has  been 
preached!  Read  it  in  the  empty  churches  where  its  doc- 
trines have  resounded,  and  then  answer  me.  Are  you 
who  call  yourselves  knights  to  relinquish  the  quest  of 
the  Holy  Grail,  the  cup  which  held  the  blood  of  Him 
who  gave  the  world  the  great  law  of  its  life  eternal, 
‘‘  Lose  that  you  may  And,”  to  go  in  search  of  the  vile 
vessel  whose  contents  minister  only  to  self-gratification 
and  self-profit?  Remember  again  the  solemn  warning, 
‘‘  Whosoever  will  save  his  life  shall  lose  it.”  The  charity 
which  gives  itself  for  the  good  of  others  must  be  at  the 
very  foundation  of  your  order,  and  upon  that  solid  rock 
will  be  safely  reared  the  beautiful  temple  of  your  lives. 
Stone  upon  stone  it  will  rise  until  it  reaches  heaven  it- 
self. The  hearts  animated  by  that  ideal  will  throb  with 
a strong  impulse  of  human  and  divine  love;  the  love  of 
fellow-man,  which  constitutes  friendship ; the  love  in  holy 
matrimony,  which  preserves  its  sanctity;  the  love  of 


i8 


Strenatb  anb  Xife 


human  society,  which  creates  strong  and  honest  citizens; 
the  love  of  country,  which  breeds  high-minded  patriots; 
the  love  of  God,  which  brings  forth  heirs  to  the  king- 
dom of  heaven.  These  are  all  ideals  which  your  practi- 
cal man  may  be  incapable  of  realizing,  but  without 
which  man  ceases  to  be  man,  ceases  to  possess  that 
which  most  ennobles  man,  and  is  left  with  nothing  worth 
possessing.  The  true  sense  of  the  word  ‘‘practical ” is  to  use 
sound  judgment.  To  be  practical  in  that  sense  is  a duty. 

In  this  higher  sense,  in  this  nobler  valuation  of  all 
which  constitutes  our  best  life,  it  would  be  easy  to  prove 
that  in  the  end  the  so-called  practical  man  is  the  most 
unpractical  of  all.  When  you  can  prove  that  those 
who  possess  most  enjoy  most  what  they  possess,  then 
you  may  conclude  that  selfishness  is  practical.  But 
just  so  long  as  the  greatest  joys  of  life  come  from  the 
moral  satisfaction  begotten  of  the  service  we  render 
to  others  — to  our  friends,  and  to  those  who  have  no 
friends,  to  our  family,  to  society,  by  deeds  of  kindness 
which  lift  us  out  of  ourselves  into  the  atmosphere  of 
universal  brotherhood  in  Christ,  the  world  of  Christian 
ideals,  just  so  long  will  it  be  true  that  in  all  that  con- 
stitutes the  best  of  life,  the  unselfish  man  is  the  richest. 
Rich  first  of  all  in  his  capacity  for  enjoyment,  multi- 
plied again  and  again  by  the  number  of  those  to  whom 
he  brings  help  and  happiness.  That  the  tendency  of 
the  world  around  us,  especially  in  the  commercial  life 


StrenGtb  anb  Xife 


19 


of  a country  like  ours,  is  toward  self,  is  recognized  by 
all.  It  is  undoubted,  I think,  that  where  the  business 
instinct  is  uncurbed,  the  colder  and  keener  faculties 
of  the  mind  prevail;  and  the  only  force  that  is  curbing 
and  bridling  this  merciless  instinct  is  the  idealism  of 
religion.  To  the  dictates  of  a heartless  spirit  of  barter, 
whose  motto  is  “ Get  all  that  you  can  that  you  may 
live,’^  religion  answers,  ‘‘  When  you  have  gotten  all 
that  you  can  you  shall  die.’’  Which  is  right?  No 
need  for  me  to  answer  here.  And,  indeed,  if  the  motto 
of  commercialism  were  true,  the  eternal  getting  could 
only  give  a life  absolutely  unworth  having.  And  it  is 
so  true  that  those  who  have  tried  it  have  at  last  fully 
realized  it,  and  often  too  late  repudiate  the  selfish  phi- 
losophy which  brought  them  only  dross,  and  robbed 
them  of  all  that  makes  life  worthy  — the  love  and  grati- 
tude of  fellow-man,  the  respect  of  those  around  them, 
and  their  own  self-respect. 

One  thing  is  certain  — that  the  natural  tendencies  of 
man  uncorrected  by  the  life  of  the  supernatural  are  not 
outward,  but  inward.  It  is  only  religion,  only  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  duties  we  owe  toward  God  by  service  to  those 
around  us  that  keeps  the  circle  of  beneficent  action  from 
growing  ever  narrower,  until  finally  its  little  radius  only 
reaches  the  sphere  of  our  own  petty,  imaginary  needs. 
And  so  it  is  only  religion,  by  its  cultivation  of  idealism, 
which  keeps  alive  the  fires  of  the  soul,  warming  all  the 


20 


Strength  anh  Xtte 


better  instincts  and  higher  purposes.  Where  faith  grows 
weaker  charity  begins  to  cool;  and  when  charity  is  cold 
then  conies  death,  — the  death  of  the  man,  the  organiza- 
tion, the  society.  It  is  fair,  therefore,  to  presume  from 
this  argument  that  where  there  is  lack  of  interest  among 
men  for  all  those  good  works  and  noble  deeds  for  the 
welfare  of  others,  spiritual  as  well  as  temporal,  there 
is  little  faith  and  little  real  religion.  And  if  we  go  far- 
ther we  shall  find  that  the  cause  of  all  this  v/ithering  up 
of  high  ideals,  generous  co-operation,  active  faith,  is  due 
to  the  clogging  up  of  the  channels  by  which  God’s  grace 
and  supernatural  help  is  conveyed  to  man. 

Jesus  Christ  declared  Himself  to  be  the  way,  the  truth, 
and  the  life,  and  it  is  only  by  union  with  Him  that  the 
life  of  the  spirit  is  quickened  in  us.  And  that  union, 
the  closest  and  warmest  permitted  to  mortal  man  with 
his  God,  is  obtained  in  the  sacrament  of  His  love.  The 
blessed  sacrament  is  the  secret  source  of  all  the  super- 
natural vitality  in  the  world.  Christ  in  the  blessed  sac- 
rament is  the  life  of  the  whole  Church,  the  surest  key  to 
life  eternal.  From  the  tabernacle  radiates  the  influence 
which  creates  out  of  weakness  miracles  of  strength.  Holy 
communion  is  the  food  without  which  all  that  is 
best  in  us  languishes,  and  the  frequent  participation  in 
the  sacrament  of  the  altar  stimulates  all  the  best  energies 
of  which  the  soul  is  capable.  What  seems  impossible 
becomes  not  only  possible,  but  easy. 


Strenatb  anb  %iU 


21 


If,  therefore,  you  desire  the  perpetuation  of  the  life 
of  your  organization,  you  must  first  of  all  learn  the  les- 
son of  unselfishness.  You  must  turn  outward  and  not 
inward  your  activities.  You  must  live  according  to  the 
higher  ideals  of  Christian  faith  and  strive  after  the  imper- 
ishable goods  of  eternal  life.  And  all  this  you  will  be 
absolutely  unable  to  do  without  an  active  faith  and  an 
ardent  charity.  And  your  faith  and  your  charity  can 
be  kept  alive  only  by  the  practice  of  your  religion,  and 
especially  by  the  nourishment  which  comes  only  from 
the  bread  of  life  in  holy  communion. 

Do  not  tell  me  that  you  are  not  a sodality  or  a reli- 
gious confraternity.  I know  well  what  you  are,  and 
I know  well  the  aims  of  your  organization.  But  I 
repeat  with  absolute  conviction  that  unless  with  the 
growth  of  numbers  you  grow  also  in  the  spirit  of  your 
holy  faith,  these  aims  can  never  be  achieved.  As  you 
cannot  be  too  careful  in  the  admission  of  candidates, 
to  require  as  an  absolute  condition  that  they  be  prac- 
tical Catholics,  that  they  be  faithful  to  the  laws  of  the 
Church  in  attendance  upon  holy  mass,  in  their  frequen- 
tation  of  the  sacraments,  in  their  reverence  for  the 
Church  and  those  who  represent  and  govern  it;  so,  if 
you  will  persevere  in  strength  and  in  numbers,  you 
must  insist  upon  it  that  the  very  life  of  your  organiza- 
tion participate  of  the  life  of  the  children  of  God.  And 
whenever  the  indications  of  an  ebbing  vitality  show 


22 


Strenotb  anb  %\U 


themselves,  you  may  be  sure  that  the  cause  is  not  in 
the  aim  of  the  association,  nor  in  the  effort  for  high 
work,  nor  in  the  expanding  sentiment  of  charity,  but 
in  precisely  the  opposite  direction  — in  the  lowering 
of  standards,  in  the  letting  down  of  bars,  in  the  ebbing 
of  the  tide  of  religious  sentiment. 

To-night,  here  in  this  holy  temple  dedicated  to  the 
holy  cross  upon  which  your  Saviour  died,  renew  your 
pledges  to  stand  close  and  fast  to  the  standard  of  the 
cross.  Renew  in  your  hearts  the  lofty  sentiments  of 
devotion  to  your  holy  faith.  Kneeling  before  the  tab- 
ernacle, in  which  is  enshrined  the  sacrament  of  Christ’s 
love,  offer  to  Him  your  hearts’  affections.  Draw  near 
to  Him  that  you  may  feel  in  your  souls  the  influence 
of  His  life  and  His  words.  Draw  near  to  Him  that  your 
weakening  spirits  may  be  fortifled  by  the  tide  of  His 
precious  blood.  Draw  near  to  Him  that  the  force  of 
His  eternal  vitality  communicated  to  your  hearts  and 
souls  may  run  through  every  member  and  bring  back 
to  a new  life,  by  the  resurrection  of  the  purposes  of  this 
society,  whatever  part  is  languishing  or  lukewarm.  He 
is  your  king  eternal. 

Offer  at  the  foot  of  His  throne  the  purest  and  highest 
sentiments  of  true  knighthood  — a clean  heart,  a strong 
fidelity,  a high  determination  to  live  in  obedience  to  His 
law;  and  as  the  saving  host,  which  conceals  while  it 
reveals  His  divine  presence,  is  raised  above  your  bowed 


strength  anh  Xife 


23 


heads,  beg  of  Him  to  bless  not  only  you,  but  your  whole 
organization;  and  then  rise  like  true  knights  of  old  and 
go  forth  from  this  temple  of  the  holy  cross  refreshed  in 
spirit,  renewed  in  purpose,  to  face  the  future  courage- 
ously, to  continue  with  undaunted  energy  the  combat 
in  God’s  name,  for  God  and  for  His  holy  Church. 

When  Columbus,  whose  great  name  you  bear,  turned 
his  bark  seaward  in  quest  of  unknown  lands,  the  wise 
ones  of  the  world  laughed  him  to  scorn.  His  faith 
in  the  God  whose  spirit  was  leading  him  on  never  wav- 
ered, and  every  evening  he  gathered  his  crew  on  the 
deck  of  his  little  caravel,  and  as  they  watched  the  stars 
appear,  by  which  they  kept  their  course,  they  knelt  and 
sang  in  unison  a prayer  to  Mary,  the  star  of  the  sea, 
confident  that  if  even  the  stars  of  heaven  should  fail 
them  in  the  mists  of  the  ocean,  she  would  still  bring 
them  to  a safe  haven.  You,  who  bear  his  name,  imitate 
his  glorious  example,  in  faith  in  God,  in  confidence  in 
Mary  your  mother.  And  then,  unretarded  and  unmoved 
by  the  thousand  obstacles  which  beset  the  path  of  all 
men  and  organizations  in  the  struggle  for  good,  your 
course  will  each  day  be  safer  and  surer,  and  your  perse- 
verance in  a good  cause  will  win  for  you  the  admiration 
of  men  and  the  benediction  of  heaven. 


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